Windows 7, Audit, KMS, Sysprep, Ghost

I'm having a headache right now with my Windows 7 deployment. Here is what I want to do:

I have many classroom with different configuration. I'm doing 1 image by class. Since it's a corporation, we are using KMS activation key. For KMS to work, I need to use sysprep with -generalize switch.

I need to be able to setup a default profile (in xp was way easier, just had to copy to the default profile). Because of that, I must use the Audit pass.

I also have various script that are ran at first boot as administrator (keyboard configuration because I'm using canadien french keyboard, which cannot be properly set in sysprep, driver install because windows doesn't used the installed driver but the one in his own cache, some tweak here and there).

To enter audit, what I did is ran a clean install from CD of Windows 7. From there, once I got to the OOBE screen, I pressed ALT+F10 to enter audit mode (unsure if that was the shortcut). I did all my base installation such as updates and took a ghost of that installation, which I call base image.

In that audit, I install all of my programs, configure them (some program like Antidote need to be configure on a user level and audit permit me to configure the default user, thus all new login afterward).

In the sysprep, I use some command to enable the administrator, set a password, autologin and first run actions; generalize and oobe pass.

Everything work fine in those.

What I'll do is take an image before I run the sysprep, that I call audit, and one after the sysprep is initialize for deployment.

The reason I create an audit image is because if I use the image after the sysprep (then use sysprep -audit to go into audit mode), 2 problems will happen:

1) all of my custom scripts won't be ran again (enabling administrator account, first run, etc...)

2) The rearm is limited to 3 times audit/sysprep.

Now, here come the problems.

small issue:

When I'm into the audit mode, Ghost Agent cannot be ran to connect to ghost and create an image. It will fail saying it cannot write to the boot sector (prevented by audit mode) to boot into wpe. I know it's not a driver issue because if I ran sysprep, ghost will run fine.

As a work arround, I use a cd that will boot in winpe and create the image manually. Annoying, but I can live with that.

Major issue:

When I deploy my image, the computer will do a first run and install various stuff. Problem is, most of the time, the computer won't join the domain. The name will be changed according to ghost configuration, but the domain isn't joined. The worst thing is, when looking at the log either on the computer side or the console side, both report a successfull domain join. If at least it would gave me an error, but no. I then have to run the configuration pass again hoping for all of them to join the domain (and even then, sometime it still say they all joined when it's not the case).

If I deploy an XP image on the same lab, all computer will join the domain without any problem, so it's Windows 7 related.

Now, I know there is a documentation on the ghost web site on how to image Windows 7 with ghost, but the issue doesn't deal with sysprep actions (default profile in audit mode, first run script each time the sysprep is ran).

I don't know if somebody can help me, maybe I'm doing everything wrong, I'm willing to do many test.

Yes I did and nothing is revelant for this particular problem. As for what I've seen, people aren't using Audit mode or creating default user profile. When they do, they don't have any scripts to run afterward and are using sysprep -audit to get there.

The only post you will find are post made by me, that haven't got any new reply and were archived.

there is some info on sysprep in this forum, including how to set up a user before sysprep and have sysprep use that profile as the default profile using the WAIK. That is just a setting. There is also a setting for forcing a keyboard profile (sorry if you mean that that particular one doesnt work)

I support a university, and we do not use Audit mode (i find it creates more problems than it is worth) and we have a local account that sysprep sets as the default profile to build other profiles off of